The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1887-09-01
SUNDAY MEDITATION.
Practical Dates Taught by Study or the Inter
national Sunday school Lesson Appointed To-
Sept, III. st. Matt, 7:1-12.

Sept IL 81. hatt., S:l-Izs
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures as
Indicated abovel
The main principle to be developed and
enforced in this lesson is the following: The
right spirit in which TO Judge self and others.
This is so important and needed an instruction
that our notes will relate almost entirely to
verses 10.
We still find our lesson in the Sermon on the
Mount. 1t was delivered, in May of the year
"a A. D. by our Savior. St. Matt, 5:2, shows
Christ addressed specially his Disciples. Un-
doubtedly the multitude was also within hear
ing distance. (7:2S.)
Verses ] and give us rules for judging
others, and verses 3-5 state rules to guide us in
Judging ourselves. Some think verses Is are
a depression in Christ's address, intended not
so much for his Disciples as for the miscellane-
Gus people. We have similar instances of Christ
turning toward his enemies with special re-
marks. (St. Luke, IL 30; l6 H. The harsh
term used by Christ in v. 3 lends support to
the theory he turned from his Disciples to the
Pharisees and Scribes. who formed part of the
crowd listening. 1t is well known they were un-
fair, cruel in their judgments and worthy the
rebukes of Christ. But we must not lay this
all on the Pharisees There are many given to
harsh judgments among those nominally Christ
idHS AS men DccOtne TlguLeOu4 Lney see
chasms between themselves and others. All
evil becomes more and more odious. So it is
quite common tor such to grow self-righteOus.
and TO pass severe judgments on those who have
not yet attained an equal degree of excellence.
They are so good as to be bad. Jesus saw the
need of caution. 1t will not do to become so
good as to be ccnsoriOus, so holy as to become
hyper-eritical. so religious as to be hated be-
cause hateful.
a. IudUe not ~ ThiI canuot ha an ahgoIuta
command against the exercise Of Judgment. In
this same sermon Christ taught us to . beware
of false prophets" He even gave a rule for
discriminating between the genuine and the
false. By their fruits We shall know them"
q: 10, 20l Christ's aim was to teach the Op-
posite of such Judgment that, &. o., of the
Pharisee addressed to the publican, (St. Luke,
l5:9-l4,l and that of the Pharisees in general
tSt. Luke, Is: Ii. 49, The reference must be
to unfair. unjust judgment. 1t cannot be wrong
10 call dog a dog. Christ does not refer to
judicial proceedings. He does not mean we
shall not form opinions as to the conduct of
Others. He, himself, in V. 5, passes a severe
Judgment, calling certain person a hypocrite.
lSee also st. Matt, %: IA, %, 3d. So did st.
John Baptist. (See St. Matt, 3:7.) We are
not to precipitate opinions, to give rash decis-
ions, to surmise evil, to sit as censors on the
faults of others, to judge hastily and harshly,
without considering all palliating circum-
stances. We are not to form a habit of judging
rudely. One should certainly never go beyond
his own righteousness in raking over the
seeming want of righteousness in another
Malevolence. hatefulness, prejudice, envy,
should never enter as elements in our judg-
ments Of men. In passing judgment we should
always remember We too at fault in many
respects. IL IS only matter of difference of
degrees. A man ought to be in special rigid
censor of himself. We have the natural faculty
OF Judgment and should use it, but never with
out charity. Being ourselves sinners our judg-
ments are perverted, and should not be TOO
audaciousiy expressed. To pass an absolute,
correct judgment one should be omnis-
cient. and mortal can lay q claim
to infinite knowledge. If necessitated to
pass Judgment, il should be in no haste and
with great caution. Once in while we have a
person who claims wonderful insight, and is
ready to pronounce judgment as to another's
tastes, character, ETC., at moments notice.
There cannot be too few of this class of society
cOnnoisseurs. A person Of an ill-natured i'm
pulse is a nuisance. Even civil law holds q
| man innocent till proved guilty. Jumping at
conclusions when dealing with so sacred q mat
ter as human character is an enormous sin.
| Some would so interpret Christ's words as to
render the study aud practice of logic, which is
| a ystem for reaching conclusions, wrong. This
| is an error. Judging is not to be criticised.
Christs aim is to plant in our hearts sHch char
| ity that we may pass judgments in a Christian
| spirit. He wanted to break up the habit of
| fault-fnding. He would have US seek for vir-
tues instead of foibles. He wished his followers
| to look on their associates not as antagonists,
but as comrades In passing their judgments
he desired his Disciples to take into consdera-
| ton all of the peculiar environments of the
person. Our moral progress depends on our ex-
| ercise of that power which God has given to US
OF discriminating between the good and the
evil. No man should so forget the distinctions
| between right and wrong as to call thief good
citizen. Christ does not require such charity
in his followers as would obliterate indignation
at iniquity. When about, e. g., TO cast votes for
| candidates to civil office, il is right TO weigh
their respective merits and to choose the least
/ suspected ones. So in a thousand ways we are
forced to form judgments of men and things.
| But there are men who always look for the
worst. They are naturally suspicious. Among
| this class are those who attribute even the good
| that men do to wrong motives. If a merchant
| be kind and social, these critics say he wants
| to get trade. If woman give TO a charitable
| object, they say she wants her name in the
newspaper. If the storekeeper become Church
communicate, they say he knows on which
| side his bread is buttered. Then in Judging
| men we should consider their circumstances.
If one be irritable. ask if he be not sick. Ii a
| man be rude, ask if his parents were not riff
ran. Ana christ would forbid any eXultatlon
| over anOther's faults, downlalls, defects. Job.
81: %; Prov, 81: II; st. Luke, 1S:11.) Self
righteousness is specially forbidden.
The reason assigned by Christ why we ought
| not judge men falsely, uncharitablyl is that if
we do, we shall ourselves suffer from similar
judgments of ourselves by those whom we
| Judged. Being ourselves. all of u.s. more or less
at fault, we give critics an opportunity to use
| against US the same weapons we hurled ut them.
| Having been ourselves censoriOus we are
dumb. Alice Cary had this thought in mind
when she wrote the following stanzas:
Do not look for wrong and evil:
| You will find them if you do
As you measure for your neighbor
| lie will measure back TO you.
| Look for goodness. look for gladness:
| You will meet them ali the while.
hyou bring "A smiling visage
| To the glass. you meet a smile.
| with what measure We mete, it shall be
| measured TO you again." was a common saving
or Proyerb. 1t is found-ln the Talmud BY
/ indulging in consciousness, you furnish an
| example and invite return Of such treat
ment yourselves. Through men, through
Gods providences, and hereafter at the iudg-
| ment occasion, God will be governed in his
judgment of US by our judgment of others.
LeI Tor jHsl tatiOHis is his privilege. Retribu-
tive justice is His right. So we are determin-
ing our own judgments. e Sa., % 81; st.
John, S:4 40; ST. James. :I2.) As a rule a
man, Grabbed unkind, oyerbearingly critical,
| will DO received in community cOldly. Men
are paid in their own coin. 1t is profitable TO
| be pleasant.